Extract date: 05/06/2026
| Name | Lucy |
|---|---|
| Type Designation | Court |
| Place Id | 6936 |
| Place Type | Road |
| Status | Registered |
| Date Registered | 31 August 1994 |
| Locality / Suburb | |
| Driver | |
| Local Government Area | |
| Palmerston City Council | |
| History/Origin | Lucy Court commemorates Lucy McGinness (also known as Alyandabu), an Aboriginal woman of the Kungarakany people who played a pioneering role in the Bynoe Harbour region. Lucy and her family were instrumental in establishing tin mining there. Born around 1874, Lucy grew up deeply connected to her Aboriginal culture. As a young woman, Alyandabu was one of the few survivors of the 1895 Stapleton Siding massacre, in which approximately 80 Kungarakany people were killed by poisoned damper - reportedly when weed killer was mistaken for baking powder. She was given the English name 'Lucy' by the white families for whom she worked as a domestic servant. Known to her people as Alyandabu, and fluent in Kungarakany, she passed on rich cultural knowledge and traditions to her children, including kinship practices and Dreaming stories. Around 1900, Lucy married Irishman Stephen Joseph McGinness, a ganger on the North Australia Railway stationed at the 'Thirty-Four Mile' outside Darwin. Together, they had five children. In 1908, after Stephen was dismissed from his job, the family moved to the Bynoe Harbour area seeking new opportunities. During this time, Lucy's brother Maranda discovered tin ore deposits, leading to the establishment of the Lucy Mine in October 1908. The mine became both home and livelihood for the McGinness family. Lucy supported the family through domestic work such as baking bread and sewing clothes, often making use of calico flour sacks. Her resilience and resourcefulness were vital to the family's survival and success in this remote environment. After Stephen's death in 1918, Alyandabu and her two youngest children were taken to Darwin to live at the Kahlin Aboriginal Compound, making her one of the Stolen Generations. During this time, she worked as a laundress and housemaid in the home of Judge Waters, returning to her children in the compound each night. It is unclear when Alyandabu left Kahlin, but by World War II she was living in Katherine, Northern Territory, from where she was evacuated to Balaklava, South Australia, remaining there until 1946. Alyandabu died on 23 September 1961 in Darwin. Sources: Wikipedia contributors. (n.d.). Alngindabu. Wikipedia. Retrieved October 16, 2025, from [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alngindabu](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alngindabu) Dewar, M. (1993). Alngindabu. Australian Dictionary of Biography. Retrieved October 16, 2025, from [https://adb.anu.edu.au/biography/alngindabu-9345](https://adb.anu.edu.au/biography/alngindabu-9345) |
| Date | Gazettal | Comment |
|---|---|---|
| 31/08/1994 | NTG35 |